'I don’t think Israel can ever have a worse leader than Netanyahu,' Chicago Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg wrote
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joins 'Fox & Friends' to discuss his efforts to rescue hostages and maintain red lines with Hamas.
Chicago Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg wrote this week that he’d sooner see the world rid of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu than the terror group Hamas.
In a recent column decrying the horrors of Israel’s war in Gaza – which he stated are being unleashed by both sides – Steinberg mentioned his belief that Netanyahu is a more destructive force than the terror group that killed or kidnapped nearly 1500 people in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
"If I had a choice between getting rid of Hamas and getting rid of Netanyahu, I’d choose Netanyahu," Steinberg said, recounting a conversation he attempted to have with a member of the Netanyahu administration during the recent Democratic National Convention.
A Chicago Sun-Times columnist recently wrote that he'd rather see Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu gotten rid of before Hamas. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
"There will always be another terror group to take Hamas’ place. But I don’t think Israel can ever have a worse leader than Netanyahu," he claimed to have said to the official, who then "spun on his heel and strode away."
"So much for dialogue," Steinberg commented, suggesting that people on both sides of the conflict are unwilling to have hard conversations about the war.
He continued, saying that many people agree with his stance on Israel’s leadership. "I’d be more embarrassed at my rudeness, but obviously am not alone in this opinion, judging from the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who filled the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem this weekend after six hostages were found executed in the tunnels underneath Gaza."
He then noted how both the Palestinian and Israel leadership "are making what is called a ‘category error’ in how they are dealing with one another."
He started with his criticism of Palestinians, writing, "Palestinian leadership traditionally treat Israel as a military problem. An approach which failed spectacularly in 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973, and that was when they had Arab armies behind them. They’ve been going it alone for the past 50 years, achieving greater levels of failure, leading to suffering, death and a dwindling area of land they actually possess."
He then called out Israel, stating the country "views the Palestinians as a long-term management issue, instead of a pressing moral call to immediate action."
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Steinberg wrote, "That is, rather than solve the situation that fate has left on its doorstep, it blames the Palestinians’ admittedly corrupt and — Oct. 7 notwithstanding — bumbling leadership, shrugs, makes do, and lets another decade slide by."
The columnist argued that "Both sides have a policy of focusing exclusively on their own humanity, decrying their own tragedy while ignoring the tragedy they inflict."
He also chided Palestinians for their "from the river to the sea" chant, saying it hurts them by deluding them into thinking they can take on Israel’s military. "Israel has one of the strongest militaries in the world. Trying to fight their way back to an imagined past, Palestinian leaders lose any hope of an actual future," he said.
Additionally, Steinberg mentioned he believes Palestinians have a "right to resist" Israel, but observed "it hasn’t gone so well."
2024/07/03: Hamas terrorists seen during the funeral of four members. The Israeli Air Force carried out an air strike in the Nour Shams refugee camp near Tulkarm in the West Bank. ( Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Towards the end of the column, he lamented the state of things, saying, "The war continues, the blood flows, and the sides seem further apart than ever. I wish they’d finally realize they can’t kill their way or blame their way to a solution." Still, he concluded with a small hope that both peoples have what it takes to find peace.
"At some point, there will be a solution to this. There is one now, waiting, where it has always been: in the hands of the Israelis and Palestinians."
Gabriel Hays is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.
